48hrs in Berlin
I recently returned from a short but sweet city break to Berlin with a close friend. We had only two days to enjoy this fascinating city, but I came away feeling satisfied that I’d used my time wisely, so I thought I’d share it with you.
We stayed in a lovely hostel/hotel called PLUS Berlin, which has a rating of 9.1 on Hostelworld. I just wanted to mention it because the services and location were fabulous: a two-minute walk from the S-Bahn with direct trains to and from the airport and into the city centre. The hostel itself had a pool and sauna, a bar, a restaurant, and a large recreation room where breakfast is served in the morning. We stayed in an all-female dorm room, which had its own toilet and shower room and lockers.
We started the first day with a quick breakfast in a nearby bakery upon the recommendation of a local: a delicious pastry with the best latte macchiato I’ve ever tasted. I’m fairly sure it was called The Eastside Bakery, and if you stand opposite Warschauer Straße station and follow the enticing smell of coffee and freshly baked goods you should find it!
The first day was spent wandering round the city centre and exploring Museum Island. The ‘island’ is a collection of five world-renowned museums and galleries. Unlike London’s free museums we had to pay admission, however, as we are students we only paid a one-off €9 for entry to all the museums. Seeing the stunning architecture and treasured sculptures and paintings made for a lovely relaxed day out.
The next day we woke up early to visit the Berlin Wall. It was a freezing cold day so of course we had to pick up another one of those macchiatos to go. It made for a perfect morning wander, and allowed for the rest of the day free to do as we pleased. So we decided to get the train to the Brandenburg Gate monument and, from there, to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The Memorial was a stunning commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust, and I was surprised by how emotional it made me. As I’m sure you can imagine, it wasn’t particularly appropriate to take my camera out, so I haven’t got any photos, but I would highly recommend paying this place a visit if you are spending a couple of days in Berlin.
As we were leaving the Memorial we asked a local where they would recommend as a good place to find dinner and they told us to take the train to S Oranienburger Straße. We then came across a gorgeous restaurant called Strandbad Mitte – it was such a cosy place, adorned with fairylights and candles on each table. The food was incredible, genuinely some of the best food I’ve ever had at a restaurant, so I would thoroughly recommend this as a special evening meal.
We both had an early flight the next morning, so we headed back to the hostel (and may have stopped for a little Bailey’s at a bar on the way back!), for a dip in the pool and a bake in the sauna.
I would say that this city doesn’t come across as one of the ‘romantic’ European capitals, but for anyone interested in a sightseeing city-break in a place with a fascinating history and friendly locals I would definitely recommend paying a visit to Berlin.
More photos to come in the next couple of blog posts.
